A South Cambridgeshire church is “up against the clock” to raise £85,000 for repairs after lead from their roof was stolen.

Thieves stripped two-thirds of the lead from the roof of St Andrew’s Church in West Wratting back in April, leading to water damage on the inside of the church as rain seeped in.

The damage to the roof and the interior was so extensive that it will cost £85,000 to repair - on top of the money provided by insurance.

The church has been applying for grants to help fund the repairs, but they are also appealing for support and grants for the community.

They have received support from the Wadlow Wind Farm Community Fund and the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Fund, as well as from villagers and councillors.

Time constraints

But they still need more to be able to start the work in the next few months - as the temporary roof will not withstand the winter weather.

Church warden Alex Walsham said: “The church has significant stains down the walls, and people are putting in buckets to catch the drips. It’s a very difficult situation and the longer we have to wait to repair it the more damage will be done.

“We are very anxious to get this done before the main winter wet period takes place. We can’t proceed with the work until we raise the money so we are really up against the clock.”

She said the church had applied for permission to replace the lead roof with steel, which is less likely to be stolen.

Sign theft

The church’s next fundraising event will take place on Saturday, October 8 at Holy Trinity Church in Balsham, and is a concert including organ, flute and the local Seven Churches choir.

But the fundraising effort hit trouble when thieves struck again on Friday night, taking the sign used to advertise the concert.

The 3 metre by 1.5 mertre sign had a specially created wooden frame which was banged into the ground with a sledgehammer, meaning it would have been difficult to remove.

The sign, which was out up on the corner of Bull Lane and West Wratting High Street, and taken between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Congregation member Linda Gorman said: “It is so sad that there are people around who will do this to something that is advertising a major fundraising effort for our ancient, much loved church.”

How you can help

Cambridgeshire Police asked anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area to contact them on 101.

Tickets to the fundraising event cost £12 and can be purchased by contacting Michael and Linda Gorman on 01223 290 653.

You can also send cheques payable to “West Wratting Parochial Church Council” to 25 High Street, West Wratting, Cambridgeshire CB21 5LU.